This invention relates to a method and apparatus for testing the quality of insertion of an electrical terminal.
In the prior art, many electrical components are still assembled manually. As one example, wire harnesses are formed by manually arranging wires to various locations on a jig. The wire terminal is also locked into an electrical connector. Many terminals and associate wires are locked into a typical connector. When the wire harness is fully assembled and the connector has received all of the designed terminals some method of testing the quality of terminal insertion is necessary.
Typically, the prior art has utilized some form of electrical test to ensure that all of the terminals do communicate electricity to or from the connector. However, the typical connectors receive a terminal in a sliding connection. In the past, a terminal may sometimes be only partially inserted into the connector body. In some cases, a partially inserted terminal may be inserted sufficiently such that it will communicate electrical signals. Thus, the prior art electrical tests have not been able to always identify an improperly inserted terminal.
If an improper terminal is not discovered at this test stage, then it is possible the wire harness could be assembled into a vehicle.